Community Fears Lewiston Shooter Influenced by Anti-Trans Extremism

Little is known about person of interest Robert Card, who is sought in association with a mass shooting that left at least 15 people dead in Lewiston, ME, but hints of a MAGA connection are leaking based on his likely social media accounts.

by Evan Urquhart

Amidst reports of a mass shooting that left at least 16 dead in Lewiston, ME credible but unverified social media claims are circulating that the person of interest sought by police had an active “MAGA” style social media presence, one where he followed and boosted right wing figures such as Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson.

Mainstream journalists have yet to confirm any information about Robert Card of Maine, but statements by police suggest the 40-year-old is a suspect in the mass killings at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston last night. NBC has reported on information in a database used by law enforcement that suggests Card may be a firearms instructor and a member of the Army Reserve.

screenshot from NBC

On social media, multiple people claimed to have accessed Card’s profiles on Twitter and Facebook, which are not currently available to the public. Screenshots from Card’s purported Twitter account showed a person with right wing political affinities that could be described as extremist, or as middle-of-the-road MAGA fare, depending on how much the current normalization of extremist views can be said to impact what was once considered extreme. The account’s purported likes included posts by Tucker Carlson, Jordan Peterson, and Donald Trump Jr. Of particular note for the trans community was the extreme anti-trans rhetoric in Card’s likes.

Here is a representative screenshot, as captured by the user @genderqueeries.

screenshot from twitter.com

If reports of the shooter’s mental illness turn out to be accurate, it can be expected that this will be used to deflect from any extreme political views the shooter may have had. The term stochastic terrorism is used to describe the behavior of individuals who use fiery rhetoric in a way that primes unstable individuals to act violently.